Paris-based Distrib Films has taken French theatrical rights to psychological thriller “Insensibles,” the debut of Spaniard Juan Carlos Medina for release in fall 2012.
Wild Bunch will put out “Insensibles” on DVD via Wild Side Films.
The Distrib Films deal is one of the last financing pieces on a buzzed-about chiller that went into production this week, shooting in Huesca, Girona and Tarragona.
Produced by Spain’s Roxbury and A Contracorriente, which distributes in Spain, France’s Les Films d’Antoine and Tobina Film, and Portugal’s Fado Filmes, “Insensibles” also exploits a growing French-Catalonian production axis.
It shoots in Catalan, which is an official Spanish language and a regional French language.
As a France-Catalonia co-production, mixing French and Catalan crew and cast, this opens a lot of doors in France, improving Gallic TV acquisitions prices, said Roxbury’s Miguel Angel Faura.
Though lead-produced out of Spain, “Insensibles” draws on French resources, one key way forward for a cash-strapped Spanish industry.
Elle Driver has international sales rights; Canal Plus French pay TV rights. Pic is financed by French bank Natixis Coficine, under-written by French culture industry financier Ifcic via an EU Media Program Production Guarantee Fund.
“Insensibles” taps Cofimage 33 French Sofica tax coin. Paris-based Backup Films brokered the co-production.
Medina’s debut benefits from Spanish psychological thrillers’ cache in France.
Films such as “The Others” or “The Orphanage” — which mix drama, story-telling, historical or social elements with shocks — are not as aggressive as French genre, said Tobina’s Francois Cognard. That makes them immensely attractive, he added.
They also have more international potential than French-language horror, producer Antoine Simkine said.
Faura said Roxbury will continue exploring a France-Catalonia production axis after “Insensibles.”
